PHOTO
The Italy Under-18 national team is ready for takeoff. The Azzurri will depart for Qatar tomorrow afternoon ahead of the Under-17 World Cup, which runs from 19 November to 13 December.
This will be Italy's eighth appearance in 19 editions of the tournament. Their best finish came at the previous edition, also held in Doha, when Massimiliano Favo led the Azzurri to a historic bronze medal with a penalty shootout victory over Brazil (Brazil 0-0 Italy, 2-4 on penalties, 27 November 2025). Favo now coaches the Italy Under-19 national team, currently competing in the second round of European qualifying in the Marche region.
The Azzurrini will wrap up their pre-World Cup training camp, which began on Thursday, with a training session this afternoon on Pitch 3, named after Gianluca Vialli, at the Giulio Onesti Acqua Acetosa Olympic Training Centre in Rome.
Head coach Daniele Franceschini has selected 21 players, all born in 2009 except for Atalanta midfielder Francesco Olivieri and Fiorentina forward Federico Croci, both born in 2010.
Italy heads to the Aspire Zone as European champions and has been drawn in Group E alongside Jamaica, Côte d'Ivoire, and Uzbekistan. The Azzurri will open their World Cup campaign against Jamaica on Friday 20 November (16:00 CET), on Pitch 3. They will then face Côte d'Ivoire on Monday 23 November (15:30 CET), again on Pitch 3, before wrapping up the group stage against Uzbekistan on Thursday 26 November (15:00 CET), on Pitch 5.
The top two teams from each of the twelve groups, along with the eight best third-placed teams, will advance to the knockout stage. The round of 32 will take place on Monday 30 November and Tuesday 1 December, followed by the round of 16 on Thursday 3 December and Friday 4 December, the quarterfinals on Monday 7 December and the semifinals on Thursday 10 December. Both finals will be played on Sunday 13 December: the third-place playoff (13:30 CET) on Pitch 2 at the Aspire Zone and the final (17:00 CET) at the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium in Doha.
SQUAD LIST
Goalkeepers: Lorenzo Costoli (Genoa), Carlo Galliera (Inter), Christian Lupo (Lecce);
Defenders: Matteo Albini (Como), Giampaolo Bonifazi (Roma), Jacopo Del Fabro (Juventus), Djibril Diallo (Parma), Andrea Donato (Inter), Davide Rigo (Juventus), Ludovico Varali (Parma);
Midfielders: Riccardo Cassano (Como), Francesco Gasparello (Atalanta), Gioele Giammattei (Roma), Gianluca Tommaso Okon-Engstler (Club Brugge), Francesco Olivieri (Atalanta);
Forwards: Tommaso Casagrande (Hellas Verona), Thomas Corigliano (Juventus), Federico Croci (Fiorentina), Marcello Fugazzola (Atalanta), Jacopo Landi (Lazio), Diego Perillo (Atalanta).
Staff – Head Coach: Daniele Franceschini; Head of Delegation: Giovanni Galli; Youth National Teams Coordinator: Maurizio Viscidi; Assistant Coach: Marco Scarpa; Goalkeeping Coach: Francesco Antonioli; Fitness Coach: Roberto Ghielmetti; Match Analyst: Francesco Donzella; Team Doctors: Giorgio Liberati Petrucci and Lorenzo Sapegno; Physiotherapists: Aldo Abbadia and Saverio Didonato; Nutritionist: Giuseppe Cuzzocrea; Press Officer: Alessandro Paoli; Administration, Finance and Control: Antonio Martuscelli; Club Italia: Adrian Lupinski and Emanuele Sica; Team Secretary: Guglielmo Cammino.
FIFA U-17 World Cup Qatar 2026
Group stage (Thursday 19 November – Friday 27 November 2026)*
Group A: Qatar, Panama, Egypt, Greece
Group B: South Korea, Uganda, New Caledonia, Ecuador
Group C: Argentina, Australia, Mozambique, Denmark
Group D: France, Haiti, Saudi Arabia, Uruguay
Group E: ITALY, Jamaica, Côte d'Ivoire, Uzbekistan
Group F: Senegal, Croatia, Cuba, Tajikistan
Group G: Mali, New Zealand, Belgium, Vietnam
Group H: Spain, China, Fiji, Morocco
Group I: Brazil, Republic of Ireland, Tanzania, Costa Rica
Group J: Dominican Republic**, Montenegro, Chile, Algeria
Group K: Mexico, Romania, Cameroon, Venezuela
Group L: Japan, Colombia, Serbia, Honduras
Matchday 1
Thursday 19 November 2026
14:00: New Caledonia vs Ecuador, Pitch 4
14:00: France vs Haiti, Pitch 9
14:30: South Korea vs Uganda, Pitch 1
15:00: Saudi Arabia vs Uruguay, Pitch 5
16:00: Mozambique vs Denmark, Pitch 3
16:30: Qatar vs Panama, Pitch 2
17:00: Egypt vs Greece, Pitch 7
17:00: Argentina vs Australia, Pitch 8
Friday 20 November 2026
14:00: Cuba vs Tajikistan, Pitch 4
14:00: Belgium vs Vietnam, Pitch 9
14:30: Mali vs New Zealand, Pitch 1
15:00: Spain vs China, Pitch 5
16:00: ITALY vs Jamaica, Pitch 3
16:30: Senegal vs Croatia, Pitch 2
17:00: Côte d'Ivoire vs Uzbekistan, Pitch 8
17:00: Fiji vs Morocco, Pitch 7
Saturday 21 November 2026
13:30: Japan vs Colombia, Pitch 9
13:30: Serbia vs Honduras, Pitch 4
14:00: Tanzania vs Costa Rica, Pitch 1
14:30: Cameroon vs Venezuela, Pitch 5
15:30: Dominican Republic* vs Montenegro, Pitch 3
16:00: Brazil vs Republic of Ireland, Pitch 2
16:30: Chile vs Algeria, Pitch 7
16:30: Mexico vs Romania, Pitch 8
Matchday 2
Sunday 22 November 2026
13:30: Greece vs Panama, Pitch 9
13:30: Denmark vs Australia, Pitch 4
14:00: Ecuador vs Uganda, Pitch 1
14:30: France vs Saudi Arabia, Pitch 5
15:30: South Korea vs New Caledonia, Pitch 3
16:00: Qatar vs Egypt, Pitch 2
16:30: Argentina vs Mozambique, Pitch 7
16:30: Uruguay vs Haiti, Pitch 8
Monday 23 November 2026
13:30: Tajikistan vs Croatia, Pitch 9
13:30: Spain vs Fiji, Pitch 4
14:00: Uzbekistan vs Jamaica, Pitch 1
14:30: Senegal vs Cuba, Pitch 5
15:30: ITALY vs Côte d'Ivoire, Pitch 3
16:00: Morocco vs China, Pitch 2
16:30: Mali vs Belgium, Pitch 7
16:30: Vietnam vs New Zealand, Pitch 8
Tuesday 24 November 2026
13:30: Costa Rica vs Republic of Ireland, Pitch 4
13:30: Venezuela vs Romania, Pitch 9
14:00: Japan vs Serbia, Pitch 1
14:30: Mexico vs Cameroon, Pitch 5
15:30: Dominican Republic* vs Chile, Pitch 3
16:00: Brazil vs Tanzania, Pitch 2
16:30: Algeria vs Montenegro, Pitch 7
16:30: Honduras vs Colombia, Pitch 8
Matchday 3
Wednesday 25 November 2026
13:30: Ecuador vs South Korea, Pitch 4
13:30: Uganda vs New Caledonia, Pitch 9
14:30: Uruguay vs France, Pitch 5
15:30: Greece vs Qatar, Pitch 2
15:30: Panama vs Egypt, Pitch 3
16:30: Denmark vs Argentina, Pitch 7
16:30: Australia vs Mozambique, Pitch 8
Thursday 26 November 2026
14:00: Vietnam vs Mali, Pitch 9
14:00: New Zealand vs Belgium, Pitch 4
15:00: Uzbekistan vs ITALY, Pitch 5
15:00: Jamaica vs Côte d'Ivoire, Pitch 1
16:00: Morocco vs Spain, Pitch 2
16:00: China vs Fiji, Pitch 3
17:00: Tajikistan vs Senegal, Pitch 7
17:00: Croatia vs Cuba, Pitch 8
Friday 27 November 2026
14:00: Honduras vs Japan, Pitch 4
14:00: Colombia vs Serbia, Pitch 9
15:00: Costa Rica vs Brazil, Pitch 5
15:00: Republic of Ireland vs Tanzania, Pitch 1
16:00: Algeria vs Dominican Republic*, Pitch 2
16:00: Montenegro vs Chile, Pitch 3
17:00: Venezuela vs Mexico, Pitch 7
17:00: Romania vs Cameroon, Pitch 8
Knockout stage (Monday 30 November – Sunday 13 December 2026)
Round of 32 (Monday 30 November and Tuesday 1 December 2026)*
Round of 16 (Thursday 3 and Friday 4 December 2026)*
Quarterfinals (Monday 7 December 2026)*
Semifinals (Thursday 10 December 2026)*
Finals (Sunday 13 December 2026)
Third-place playoff*
13:30: Loser SF1 vs Loser SF2, Pitch 2
Final
17:00: Winner SF1 vs Winner SF2, Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium, Doha
* Matches will be played at the Aspire Zone in Doha.
** The Dominican Republic replaced the United States on Wednesday 11 November 2026.
NB: All times are in CET (Central European Time).